I spent my first few hours in Seattle breathing in sea breeze and getting accustomed to the lack of sunshine. Having walked down the waterfront, I halted at the end of the road right in front of the Pike Place Market. Although I'd heard about the iconic market, I had no idea what to expect. From what I'd heard from friends, it's the ultimate destination for all types of fresh produce and oceanic catch.
As I climbed the stairs, leading to the market, I noticed weird facades and odd-shaped stairwells leading to and from the corners. Set atop hills, the city of Seattle and the market area in particular, have no flat surfaces. Not only did it feel as if I was climbing a hill on top of a hill, but it also felt as though I was riding up and down
…show more content…
It was a Wednesday, and despite it being midday when most people would be in their offices, the market resembled a Sunday carnival. When I reached the top, a little sign welcomed me with information and a map of the market. Trying to be smart about my strategy, I took the elevator all the way to the top floor so I could walk down each floor missing nothing.
When the lift doors opened at the sixth floor, a wave of dim light and buzzing voices greeted me. It was as if I'd taken the lift to a dark movie from the 70s. Facing me was the entrance to a supermarket selling all types of candy, weird foods, and random home items. Wondering what about the market attracted so many eyeballs and footfalls, I began walking around the floor, and then from floor to floor, observing the many stylistic and curious shops.
Each floor I stopped at had a variety of stores. From eery-looking stores selling Halloween and magic merchandise to a magazine shop selling vintage Playboys and Time magazines from the 40s, to a saloon that invited customers, every corner filled up with something worth staring at or dropping my jaw on. Tibetan artefacts, leather bags, indie artist studios, thrift shops, liquor stores, stationary, carpentry shops, jewellery stores, clothing like t-shirts, hats, ties, and belts, pet care, human care, hair styles, Seattle mementoes, and thousands of other little and large shops lit up as customers
I always passed by it on the freeway feeling curious as to what it was about. There was a big sign in front of the place that had huge red letters reading “Bass Pro Shop”, with a yellow background and a big fish. What stood out to me every time I saw it, was right under the store sign was an even bigger sign that read in huge letters “Outdoor World.” Every time I passed by, there was always a multitude of cars in the parking lot, which made me assume it was probably a cool place to go to visit, so one day I decided to go to the place and I remember getting out of my car and feeling mesmerized as to how big it was. I remember smelling food from the restaurant that was inside of it and seeing all types of commercial boats around the place. Bass Pro Shop to me looked like an enormous cabin.
Despite the outbreak of the First World War, the store strived to give a great service to the public, giving a meaning to the famous phrase “business as usual” (Harry Gordon Selfridge, 1914). During the period of 1919 and 1924, the company started its first expansion in Oxford Street and was selling everything from make-up to toys. So far, over 15 million had shopped in the store.
Wisconsin Dells was better than Six Flags because my family stayed longer. We were in Wisconsin Dells for four days, but we were only at Six Flags for two days. Because we were in the Dells longer, my family was able to create more memories. Six Flags may have had more attractions inside the park itself, but I felt rushed and did not enjoy my time there as much. The length of time my family spent in Wisconsin also gave us the ability to experience the numerous attractions found outside of the park.
Upon arrival, it came to our attention that some of the letters of the light up sign above the store were burned out. The building itself looked extremely out dated and was poorly lit outside. Also, there were many homeless people surrounding the shopping center outside of the store. All of these aspects made the store seem a bit sketchy and unwelcoming.
The sun had just set and all the street lights had begun to turn on to help see through the dark alleys. Just before we began to close the store something surprisin...
...the customer had completed their bank transaction they could return to the ground level and enjoy a moment of shopping at the various retail shops that were housed in the dedicated retail spaces directly below the main banking floor.
As I drove into the night, I saw dozens of colorful lights, blazing into my eyes as if intending to make me blind. I realized it was Tom’s, the ol’ convenience store that looks as if the owner forgot to take down his christmas lights. I came to a halt at the side of the store, slipping out of the car and slamming the car door shut. I squinted up at the bright neon lights of the store, all twinkly in their disgusting joyful theme. I scowled, “It ain’t right for it
Once I began walking around I realized the loud talking was vendors to potential customers, fryers making fattening, but delicious food, and the exchange of enormous amounts of money. Traditionally, I would walk past everything, hardly noticing anyone or anything, but I stayed alert to the commotion and chaos going on around me. There was a large array of merchandise being sold, from puppies and antiques to clothes, guns and henna tattoos. I also noticed a very important point, which was that the flea market’s culture itself was diverse. There were vendors and consumers of many different races and
Postrel develops her support of national retailers throughout the essay, offering the opinion that it isn’t the stores that give places their character, but instead, aspects like the terrain, weather and culture that do (Postrel 347). While terrain, weather and culture can set apart regions, such as New England from The Deep South, and Southern California from the Midwest, it’s the community that gives each town their own special character. A community consists of the residents, their restaurants, hardware stores, pharmacies, ice cream parlors, farmers markets, and so on. These places, and the interactions that occur daily at each establishment, are the fabric that differentiate them, and create the breeding ground for diverse characteristics to flourish. While Postrel argues that wildly different business establishments across America in the past is a myth , it’s actually not necessarily that the products that varied from store to store, but more the aforementioned factors that truly set ...
The 626 Night Market is safe and welcomes different cultures, its is busy with business with over 200 vendors, and it is sacred because it is the modeled after the popular night markets in Asian and has authenticity. Through my observation I noticed that there were people from all different zip codes that travelled all the way here to experience the 626 Night Market. There were locals but the event also drew crowds from Northern California and the Central Valley. Ultimately, the 626 Night Market was an event that drew large numbers of visitors and vendors to one safe and sacred place that was busy with commerce due to the variety and availability of innovative food
The outer aisles are filled with vendors that sell clothing, cell phones, accessories, jewelry, shoes, toys and so many random things. There is a section for antiques. They have collectibles, furniture, vintage clothing and many different home decor items. Towards the back of the market are all the used items. They sell used bicycles, used furniture, pots, pans, anything used. Kind of like an outdoor thrift store for a bargained price. As you are walking through these areas the vendors yell out, "for sale, for sale, we sell this, we sell that, come in and see our items!". They yell these things out in Spanish and of course they name the specific things they are selling. So they grab a lot of people's attention and that's what gets people to come into their space to buy things or check out what they're
(n.d.). Retrieved October 03, 2017, from http://oldsmarfleamarket.biz/) I arrived about an hour before the market closes and observed how empty it gets around this time. By the time I got inside only half of the shops were still open. It wasn’t a problem because I was still able to visit some of the shops that really interested me.
In designing the buildings, the storefront is a key focus, with its large public doors, heavy use of glass, display windows, and entrance signage. Much like today, a storefront often serves as its own advertisement to pedestrians or drivers passing by and as such becomes a heavy focus for a store’s design. As in the case of the Kress stores they established their brand in a shiny gold handwritten font over a green back...
Each night, I scuffed my shoes slowly along the streets, meandering closer to the building. Its height was visible from blocks away. The incongruous radiance provoked disgusted mutters and headshakes from seemingly everyone. Week after week, I ventured another few steps, until new sights and sounds were unlocked. At a certain gap in the fence by Fifth Street, you could make out the glow of a sign. If you circled around in the opposite direction, the giant cube of the trash bin was visible, weighed down by glass bottles and much more that children shouldn’t concern themselves with. I had early on discerned that the lights did, in fact, lead to a building, and it was my intent to eventually go inside to experience the fun that the outside boasted of through its blinking signs and grand size. By then, I could count the amount of steps that took me to reach the street corner across from the back
like an oddly dressed cousin at a family gathering. Its old-fashioned coffeeshops and conserved pre-war apartments provide an interesting backdrop to the area’s eccentric fashion boutiques and eateries, adding to the offbeat and idiosyncratic vibe of the neighbourhood.